It’s Red Lights for Bathurst and Bixi, Green for Port Credit

City council, backed by head planner Jennifer Keesmaat, has passed an “emergency” one-year moratorium on development on Bathurst Street after Honest Ed’s, the landmark department store at the corner of Bloor Street, was put up for sale recently.

The interim control bylaw, one of the most powerful land-use controls available to the city, was used to allow enough time to complete a Bathurst Street study. The control prohibits new retail and service use as well, which will stave off a possible Walmart debated for the Bathurst and College intersection. The control affects Bathurst between Dupont and Queen.

Councillor Mike Layton told the National Post, “We are trying to protect main streets on Queen Street, Little Italy, Kensington Market and Dundas West by restricting big-box retail,” Layton said. “The concern of the community is the appropriate size of retail on Bathurst.”

Arterial Bathurst Street is the subject of a land use study launched last spring, as planners become aware that its older homes and spotty retail make it a prime target for future development. Because it cuts through several zones — parks, retail, hospitals, school, residential — Bathurst presents a particular challenge, but its proximity to the core and the age of many of its existent developments make it attractive for redevelopment and infill projects.

For perhaps the first time, I find myself pleased that an agency of government is dragging its metaphorical feet. I hope to never walk down a downtown street — Bathurst or any other — to be confronted by a Walmart. I don’t cast aspersions on those who appreciate cheap laundry detergent, nor on the suburbs that traditionally accommodate them. I actually appreciate the suburbs on multiple levels, including the homes themselves, even the garage-forward boxes that went up so ubiquitously in the ‘80s. They are wonderful places to raise kids, let dogs run, and get to know the farmer next door. They accommodate Walmarts because Walmarts sell exactly the kind of goods suburbanites need — lawn furniture, bulk dog food, shelving — all the things inner-city dwellers don’t need or have no room to store.

There is no more surefire way to de-quirk a neighbourhood than to plop in a Walmart. Let’s keep Kensington Market quirky.

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The TTC said in this week’s meeting that they will likely not integrate Bixi, the Montreal-based bike share program, into its services. I’m a supporter in theory, but torn between my support of the idea and not wanting my tax dollars spent on what is now a very small niche. The TTC is “mass” transit after all. I suspect it’ll get worse for Bixi before it gets better. I think another five or 10 years and it will soar. I don’t see it as the “failure” our illustrious mayor seems to, but rather just an idea whose time has not yet come. My hope is that some far-seeing, bike-loving entrepreneur will come along and save it. Anyone?

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The City of Mississauga is considering a proposal to revitalize its Port Credit lakefront. Canada Lands Company (CLC), a Crown corporation, is the current owner of 1 Port St. E., which lies between the mouth of the Credit River and Lake Ontario, which now includes an 800-vessel marina and related services, including a restaurant and assorted other small businesses. The property is enjoyed by many throughout the summer but becomes an underused giant storage shed in the colder months.

CLC, which recently acquired the land from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, envisions a sustainable mixed-used community in their proposal, which you can check out at www.oneportstreet.com. They say they see a redevelopment that will offer more chances to use the waterfront year-round, complementing the existing marina rather than displacing the water-based leisure activities now available there.

The plan extensively addresses potential public concerns in the formation of its vision, relying on a reference group and public consultation meetings that engaged more than 3,000 people in total. Pedestrian, bike, and vehicular access are addressed, as well as uses that include office, residential, public spaces, attractions, transit, etc.

Port Credit is one of few urban areas that can genuinely be called “charming.” It has a casual marine feel entirely befitting its location, but it’s true that it doesn’t get enough use in the winter. Once again, I find myself torn. I’d love to see it built up some, but also want it to remain publicly accessible and retain its village charm. Hopefully the former will be taken care of as a Crown-owned parcel, and the latter by an intelligent choice of developer and continued public engagement. I’d hate for its prime locale to price it out of reach of the average lake-lover.

It will take years for this master plan or any variation of it to come to fruition, but I’ll be watching eagerly. Like Canary District and the just-announced new downtown Ajax, it’s a large-scale project that has the potential to redefine a community.

What would you like to see?